Mind Over Matter
by renbunny04
Summary: After Reid is kidnapped he refuses to deal with what he has gone through, causing Hotch to force him to stay with Morgan, in hopes that Reid will find comfort with someone who has gone through similar experiences. SLASH. mature themes in later chapters such as rape and abuse. Reid/Morgan pairing
1. Chapter 1

Reid sat shivering in the dark musty room, naked except for a pair of rusty metal handcuffs bolted to the floor. A short chain was attached to them giving him a small amount of room to shift positions. His mind was racing as his body was still. No one knew where he was. No one would know how to find him. No one would even have a clue he was missing yet.

The team had been given the weekend off after a particularly tiring case. There was no new cases in immediate danger and Hotch made the executive decision that everyone needed a break. The job was hard both mentally and physically and under any other circumstances Reid would have greatly appreciated the time off. However now that break could be the reason he would be dead.

He shuddered and tried not to think about what would or could happen to him. Yet his mind still went to all the victims they weren't able to save in time. All the pictures JJ presented, the mutilated bodies, the corpses discovered far too late. Silent tears slid down his pale cheeks and the back of his head began to ache where he had been hit with a metal object, knocking him out and causing him to wake up here.

He was only trying to help. He truly hadn't believed it would end like this. He let out a soft chuckle. " _I can't believe for one second I actually thought there were good innocent people in this world. I work with serial killers and sadists and I didn't even think to tell anyone where I was going."_ He began laughing harder all while tears continued to flow down his face. The laughter ended as abruptly as it had begun and he was forced to once again think about his fate.

He searched the small room for cameras and spotted a small one tucked away in a corner. Reid was positioned directly in the middle of the metal confinement, the camera having the perfect view of him. " _Bryan probably thinks I'm crazy now."_ He thought with a smile, " _If that's even his real name."_

A Bryan Hardy had contacted Reid after a seminar on linguistics given at the local community college. A man around the same height as Reid with a slightly bulky build approached the agent as he was exiting the lecture hall and introduced himself.

"Dr. Reid! Hi, I'm Bryan Hardy and I just have to say that I think what you do is so amazing. I mean you've contributed to catching so many serial killers using things like linguistics, it's crazy!"

"Thank you," Reid replied. He was used to having fans of FBI trying to get exclusive looks at what it's really like. "Do you have an interest in criminology?"

Bryan laughed as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Yeah," he said, "Yeah I actually do. I really want to join the FBI as a matter of fact."

Reid gave a curt smile to the man. "I hope that works out for you then Bryan. The agency is always looking for good agents. It was nice to meet you." The doctor turned to walk away.

"Wait!" Bryan called. "I totally understand if you don't want to do this but I was wondering if you could give me your phone number or an email or something. It just would really be nice if I had someone who could give me advice about all of this and let me know what the FBI is really like.." He trailed off desperately awaiting a response. Reid quickly mulled the idea over in his head, but couldn't think of a reason not to help him out.

He handed his card to the man with a small smile. "Just call or email me. I'll try to help you out when I can"

"Thank you so much!" Bryan grinned at the agent.

"No problem." Reid returned the smile and walked out of the room to the car waiting for him leaving Bryan staring at the card.

Reid quickly snapped out of it, the reality of the situation consuming his mind. He curled up in a fetal position on the floor and tucked his hands under his head. Tears welled up in the corner of his eyes as he wondered what would happen to him in the near future and prayed the team would find him before it was too late.

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 **Hey hope you all like the story so far! Next chapter will be up soon. Let me know what you think! :) also disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds or anything like that**


	2. Chapter 2

Garcia's glittery pink phone rang out twice before she picked it up and answered, only to hear the sweet sound of her chocolate god's voice.

"Hey baby girl, doing anything tonight?"

Garcia gave a devilish smirk as she replied, speaking in the seductive voice she loved using with Morgan. "Depends if you're coming over or not. Kevin's visiting his parents you know..."

Morgan laughed. "Maybe after we go out for drinks? Turns out the BAU doesn't really have a life outside of the BAU. Prentiss, Rossi, and Hotch are already on their way."

"Sounds good, I'll be there waiting for you hot stuff. Are you forcing boy wonder to come?"

"Of course I am! I'm not going to let the kid waste his time off reading. He'll never admit it but I know he has fun going out with us. We just have to convince him to come" Morgan's voice had a mischievous hint to it and Garcia knew exactly what he wanted to do.

"I'll meet you at his place in 10?"

Morgan laughed as he answered, excited with the idea of dragging Reid to a bar. It was too fun to see him trying to act as normal as possible for an awkward genius. "Perfect. Thanks babygirl!"

Morgan arrived at Reid's small house first. He knew that by calling first, Reid would have enough time to formulate an excuse to get out of the night. He pulled into the suburban driveway and smiled to himself. " _I really can't wait to see the look on his face when I tell him where we're going"_ Morgan thought. He walked up the pathway to Reid's door, his heart dropping to his stomach when he saw the door slightly ajar. He felt the blood pounding in his ears as the adrenaline began to rush through his body.

In all the years he had known Reid, he knew that the boy was cautious. The job affected all of them to an extent, but Reid especially was terrified of living alone. Every time Morgan came over, Reid had to double check it was him before he unlocked the deadbolt and other various locks on his door. The only time Reid would ever just leave his door open would be if something dire happened to him.

Morgan put a hand on the Glock he carried at all times, and entered his home, checking his surroundings for any intruders. He mentally prepared himself for the worst, envisioning Reid's body mutilated with stab wounds and gunshots. Best case scenario would be him missing, at least then they may have a chance at saving him. After clearing the entire house, Morgan breathed a sigh of relief. Reid wasn't there, but he also wasn't in a bloody mess anywhere in his home.

Morgan called Garcia once more, this time with less exciting news for the night.

Garcia answered on the second ring, "Hey hot stuff, what's up? You have Reid? I'm just about to head over right now, and I can't wait to see your beautiful chocol-"

"Garcia." The serious tone in the way he spoke sent chills down Penelope's spine. "Reid is missing, his door was open, he's not here I know he wouldn't just leave his door open something is seriously wrong.." His voice cracked as he trailed off.

"Morgan, calm down. I'll get the team together, we'll be over there as soon as possible. Be safe, love you." Morgan managed to mutter a quiet "Okay" before hanging up the phone. He wandered through Reid's empty house until he got to his kitchen. Reid's cell phone was left on the table along with his badge and gun, as if he had simply dumped his work belongings on the table after coming home. As Morgan went around the table to look for any other signs of Reid, he noticed a paper on the dining table. Curious and hoping it would lead to any kind of clue as to where Reid was, Morgan picked it up and read it.

 _To whoever finds this note:_

 _Hello. Events in my life have come up and caused me to need to leave immediately. Life is often unpredictable and although this may seem sudden, you must trust that I am safe and far from danger. Please do not try to find me, I don't want anyone worrying and trying to spend unnecessary time and efforts on looking for me. Being that I am a part of the BAU, trust that I will be safe in my journey. Right now, this is simply something that I need to do. You must not wait for me to return or worry about my well being. Although I can not give many details, you can trust that I will return one day. Nevertheless, that day may be a long time in the future and it is not a certain date. However, I hope that you will not stay in contact. As a part of my journey, I need to be far from those around me. Rarely, is this something loved ones wish to hear, however this is important to me. Don't be afraid for me, know that this is crucial to my life in this moment. You will hear from me one day, and hopefully you will find me as a better person._

 _I hope you can understand this message._

 _With love, Reid._

Morgan slumped into the chair, attempting to comprehend what the message was telling him. Reid willingly just left his job and friends for this new "destiny"? It just didn't make sense. Morgan went upstairs to where Reid's room was. It was always neat and tidy, everything in it's perfect place. Simple furniture sprinkled the room, a wooden nightstand next to his queen sized bed, a desk with books stacked on top was tucked in the corner of the room. No signs of a struggle were shown anywhere throughout the room. Opening his closet doors showed that few pieces of clothes were left, most of the wire hangers were left empty as though he left quickly. Morgan's mind began to wander and he began to question if the young genius actually left on his own terms. As he walked back down the stairs, the door swung open and Prentiss's voice called out. Morgan sighed once more, and went to face his team with what they knew.


	3. Chapter 3

Reid awoke to hands running through his long hair. They combed slowly through his dirty blond locks, pulling lightly on the hairs, giving Reid tingles down his spine. His eyes opened slowly, and his heart sank remembering where he was. His bones ached and felt stiff from laying in the same position for hours, and his head throbbed where he was hit.

"Good morning sleepy head. I bet you're hungry. You're so thin, you need some more meat on your bones. You know, I've never really liked skinny boys. We need to thicken you up as soon as possible. And you know what that starts with? Breakfast. Eat up, I made it myself."

Reid still being groggy, listened to the words but couldn't distinguish where they were coming from. After processing the words in his mind he recalled who the voice belonged to: Bryan Hardy. A plate of pancakes was pushed in front of him, complete with fruits and syrup. Bryan looked down at Reid sitting on the floor, anticipation in his eyes as he waited for him to take a bite.

"I'm sorry these pancakes look delicious, but it's hard for me to eat them with these handcuffs. Do you think you could take them off of me?" Reid desperately hoped Bryan would release the rusty metal restraints, however he doubted he was that dumb. From weeks of emails and phone calls, Reid knew the man wasn't stupid. He in fact was extremely smart.

After initially meeting him at the lecture, Bryan almost immediately emailed Reid with a list of questions. When Reid had the time, he tried to get back to him and he often found himself having intellectual conversations with Bryan, the ones that his coworkers would normally yawn at. In retrospect, Reid felt stupid for actually believing he had a friend, he should have been able to see the signs. If he hadn't been so blinded by the want for a friend outside of work, he might have questioned why Bryan was so set on going to Reid's house to help him with the FBI paperwork instead of to the coffeeshop Reid initially selected. He may have thought it was strange that Bryan gave little details of his own life and instead asked Reid all the personal questions. However, Reid couldn't dwell on the past and the mistakes which lead to this situation, he could only attempt to survive and escape. His heart filled with hope as he waited to see if Bryan would remove his handcuffs.

Bryan kneeled down to be on Reid's level. "Spencer, darling, you know I can't do that." He brushed a stray piece of hair out of Reid's face. "But what I will do, to make you more comfortable of course, is feed you myself." Bryan picked up the plastic fork and fed him a piece of the pancake. Reid slowly chewed, not wanting to eat but at the same time not wanting to anger Bryan.

"It's delicious isn't it? Family recipe, well old family recipe I guess." Reid noticed as Bryan's knuckles turned white from gripping the plastic fork so hard. "They don't really want to speak to me anymore, but you know what? That's okay. I have you now. I don't need their judgements. All I need is you. Yes, all I need is you. I mean look at me! I have a fucking FBI agent! How can they think I'm just a failure and a fag when I did all this! I'm a fucking genius!" Reid cautiously watched Bryan exhale slowly, trying to calm himself down, and profiled him with the new information. He assumed that Bryan fed off of power, since his family made him feel powerless most likely because of his sexuality. Additionally, while he felt safer knowing Bryan wasn't likely to kill him anytime soon, he wasn't entirely stable and Reid was still in danger. He finished the pancakes and felt his eyes grow heavy. His last thought before falling into deep sleep, was of the likely sedatives placed into his meal.

Reid awoke to a comb running through his hair. It felt good, comforting in the way that a mother would comb her young daughter's hair, however once he realized who was doing the combing, it lost all feelings of comfort. Reid shuddered.

Bryan put his mouth to Reid's ear and he could feel the man's hot breath with every word he spoke. "Good morning Spencer. Today is a VERY special day for us, and so it's very important that you look your best. That starts with combing your long, beautiful hair."

Reid tried his best to look unaffected by the man's too close for comfort contact and the way his words made him want to curl up in a ball and cry. The last thing the unsub would want was for Reid to act like any of this was out of the ordinary, and while he was scared, Reid attempted to simulate normalcy.

"Wh..what are we doing today?" His voice quaked at the beginning but he held it together for the most part.

"Oh Spencer, that is a secret. You'll find out later, trust me. But in order for us to have a nice time later, you need a bath!" Out of Reid's peripheral vision, he saw the bucket of soapy water with a towel hanging out of the side of it. His heart began to pound as he saw Bryan reaching down to grab the towel. Throughout his life, Reid had never been one for physical contact by others. Even in his few relationships, it took him a long time to get comfortable enough to even have the other person casually touch him. While being naked was something Reid had enough time to become adjusted to, although he was still embarrassed allowing another man to see his private areas, letting another person touch those areas was a whole other story. Reid desperately tried to come up with an excuse to get him out of the situation.

"Oh that's alright. I don't want to trouble you, I can bathe myself thank you." Reid could feel his heart in his stomach and his throat beginning to tighten at the thought of being denied.

"But Spency, how are you going to get all the hard to reach places without my help. You know I can't let you take your handcuffs off." Bryan reached once more to grab the sudsy towel and Reid let his carefully calculated mind slip.

"NO! I.. I mean no that's quite alright I think I'll be able to manage." Although Reid attempted to cover up his outburst, it was too late. At his first no, Bryan had stood up slowly and stiff, like a grizzly bear ready to attack. He turned around to face Reid, his face showing his obvious fury and his nostrils wide and flaring. Before Reid could react, a hard slap across the face stunned him.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY TO ME?" Bryan was clearly furious and Reid could do nothing but stare up at him in fear. Bryan pounded Reid's head into the ground, dazing him as he violently kicked Reid's exposed stomach and ribs. Reid cried out in pain, but his screams fell to empty ears.

"YOU JUST HAD TO RUIN THIS SPECIAL DAY DIDN'T YOU! HOW COULD YOU!" Bryan was screaming at Reid who was curled up in a ball on the floor, reciting "I'm sorry, I'm sorry" through tears.

Bryan stormed out of the room, leaving Reid to lie in his own blood and tears, hoping that his corpse wouldn't be too mutilated or hidden so that his only friends, the BAU team, would be able to find peace in knowing what happened to him.

 **Hey guys! I know it's been like a crazy long time since I've uploaded but I recently got back into this so I'm going to do my best to continue and hopefully finish the story! Leave a comment and let me know what you think! Thank you :-) ~ Ren**


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